Timepiece regulator



Nov. 7, 1967 R. SIEFERT ETAL TIMEPIECE REGULATOR Filed Sept. 8, 1965 United States Patent TIMEPIECE REGULATOR Roland Siefert, Bad Durrheim, and Norbert Knauer,

Trossingen, Germany, assignors to Kienzle Uhrenfabriken G.m.b.H., Schwenningen am Neckar, Germany,

a limited-liability company of Germany Filed Sept. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 485,696 Claims. (Cl. 58-109) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is a plastic curbing key for mounting on the regulator lever or arm of a timepiece work. The key has a radially inwardly opening recess for receiving the hair-spring and has an elastic retaining tongue to hold the spring in the recess when the free end of the tongue is tucked under a detaining nose on the key.

This invention relates to a positive regulator or regulator provided with a locking curbing key for use with a hair spring in timepieces and clockworks which can be manipulated or operated without special opening of the key and can be made as an integral plastic piece.

The known positive regulators are provided with a socalled clamping hair spring key. In their manipulation it is necessary, in order to avoid damage to the spring, to open the clamp-key before adjusting the regulator and then to bring the clamp back into clamping position. Such regulators are inherently complicated, and hence rather large and cumbersome.

There is a key known wherein one part of the key is springy. Yet in that construction an eccentric screw must be used to open the key before adjustment and then to close it afterwards.

There are other positive regulators known in which a clamping device is employed and the key gap is as wide as the hair spring thickness. This condition is accomplished by using a key having three blade strips of suitable and equal cross-section. In this construction the middle strip acts as a distance piece equal to the thickness of the hair spring, the two outer strips which form lightly springy distance pieces determining the limits of width of the key gap. The three strips are bound together at their respective ends and secured fast in a bore in a key-bolt by pressing, soldering or clamping. The precision finishing required, with proportionate expense, of the last mentioned regulator is so great that it is used only in expensive timepieces.

The regulator of the present invention overcomes these disadvantages. In the key the gap still is as wide as the spring thickness and besides, the arrangement so provides for an opening of the key during adjustment of the regulator. The key is quite rugged, very precise and of very low price, since it is a plastic unit.

The key is composed of a plastic body with a small narrow elastic strip of the same material as the body, the strip having fixed and free ends. The fixed end of the strip, that is, the connection of the strip and body, is preferably located at the lower portion of the side of the body which engages the hair spring associated with the regulator. The upper free end of the strip, which forms an angle of a few degrees with respect to the axis of the balance staif can, for example, be bent and tucked under a holding part in the form of a nose on the body when the hair spring is inserted. This may be done by means of a small screw driver or tweezers. The strip lies adjacent a distance piece on the body to form a gap between the strip and body corresponding to the thickness of the hair spring.

3,350,875 Patented Nov. 7, 1967 ICC FIG. 1 is a partial side view of a regulator and the key thereon;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the key;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the regulator with the key, the section being taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 4 shows a plan of the regulator.

In FIG. 1, part 1 is an end portion of a regulator lever or arm 13 having an axis 14 (FIG. 4) as seen lookingin the direction thereof and about which the arm may turn in known manner for adjustment of the timepiece. Said end portion is provided with a right angular mounting portion 1' and a plastic L-shaped body 2 is rigidly mounted on the portion 1' within its bend by main and radial legs 103 and 104 at points or zones 3 or 4. The corner portion of the plastic body 2 is provided with a narrow small elastic strip 5 at the side of the body adjacent the hair spring 6 to be used. The body 2 and strip 5 may be integr'al as shown at 7, but cemented two-piece construction may be used. The free end 8 of the strip 2 makes a small angle a of about 4 with the direction of the balance stafi axis. This free end 8 can be tucked under the holding part of the body 2 which comprises a nose 9 adjacent a slanted slot 10. The strip rests in position 8'. For the precise fixing of the key gap 11 an appropriately sized distance piece 12 is used in the form of a transverse rib on the body at the lower part of the slot. The width of the key gap corresponds to the thickness of the hair spring 6 with almost no clearance but with substantially two-point contact between the strip and spring.

As is shown in FIG. 2 the nose 9 extends over nearly the whole width of the part 2 so that retention of the free end 8 of the strip 5 is facilitated.

As shown in FIG. 3, which is a cross section of the invention as shown in FIG. 1 with the strip bent under the nose, the gap 11 already has at the base of the strip only the thickness of the hair spring material.

For the removal of the hair spring the strip 5 can be disconnected from the holding device so that the hair spring is not bent. The same applies to the insertion of the spring in the gap. However, during adjustment of the regulator the key always remains closed. By constructing the key as a single plastic part and its permanent fixation on the regulator lever it is assured that on the one hand the gap can readily be substantially constricted about the spring, and on the other hand the gap is always situated at substantially like radial positions with respect to the spring along the curve of the spring.

The body 1, with its integral strip 5, may be formed, as by molding or casting, of suitable plastic or resin such as the methacrylates or Plexiglas, phenol-urea and the like. The part 2 must be massive relative to the size of the strip 5 so that it may not become distorted by the springy strip, or at least so that its distortion can be predicted with accuracy at the nose portion 9.

The invention claimed is:

1. A regulator for a timepiece or clock work having a hair-spring comprising a regulator arm extending radially' outwardly past portions of the hair-spring for adjustment turning and a key fast on the arm, said key being comprised of plastic and including a relatively massive body portion fast on the arm having a shallow groove opening inwardly toward the hair-spring to receive a portion of the hair-spring, the key having a springy thin narrow strip fast on the body at a portion adjacent the groove and extending over the latter and normally slightly inwardly in the direction of the arm to have a free end slightly remote from the body, said body being provided with a detent means adjacent said free end for holding the latter radially outward from its normal position to hold the strip in a bent position to curb the hair-spring, whereby when the strip is in normal position the hair- Ca spring may be inserted between the strip and body and into the slot and the strip be bent and detained in bent and curbing position by the detent means.

2. A regulator as claimed in claim 1 said detent means being a hook-like tapered projection of greater width than the strip and integral with the body and adapted to receive between the projection and the body as a whole, when the strip is temporarily deformed, the free end for the projection to hold the strip in said bent position.

3. A regulator as claimed in claim 2 said body having integral therewith a distance piece transverse to the strip between the groove and the projection for the strip to engage against when the latter is held by the projection.

4. A regulator as claimed in claim 1 said strip normally being inclined radially inwardly of the arm and from the detent means by about 4.

5. A regulator for a timepiece or clock work having a hair-spring and comprising a regulator arm having a right angularly turned extension substantially perpendicular to the plane of the hair-spring, a plastic key to curb the hair-spring and having a body of generally L-shape having main and radial legs permanently secured to the arm and extension respectively, the body being provided with a transverse groove near the corner thereof and opening radially inwardly and extending to the outer end portion of the main leg for a greater distance than the width of the hair-spring, said main leg being provided with a slanted notch opening radially inwardly and generally toward said corner so as to provide a tapered nose portion on the main leg projecting toward said groove, the notch being slightly remote from the groove to provide a distance piece portion therebetween, said body having an integral resilient strip extending substantially from said corner and over the groove and distance piece portion with a free end near the nose portion and normally inc-lined radially inwardly from the main leg a few degrees so that when the hair-spring is disposed in the groove and the free end is tucked under the nose portion the strip curbs the hair-spring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 639,578 12/1899 Johanson 58113 2,630,672 3/1953 Line 58-113 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,012,356 7/1952 France.

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

G. F. BAKER, MICHAEL LORCH, Assistant Examiners. 

1. A REGULATOR FOR A TIMEPIECE OR CLOCK WORK HAVING A HAIR-SPRING COMPRISING A REGULATOR ARM EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY PAST PORTIONS OF THE HAIR-SPRING FOR ADJUSTMENT TURNING AND A KEY FAST ON THE ARM, SAID KEY BEING COMPRISED OF PLASTIC AND INCLUDING A RELATIVELY MASSIVE BODY PORTION FAST ON THE ARM HAVING A SHALLOW GROOVE OPENING INWARDLY TOWARD THE HAIR-SPRING TO RECEIVE A PORTION OF THE HAIR-SPRING, THE KEY HAVING A SPRINGY THIN NARROW STRIP FAST ON THE BODY AT A PORTION ADJACENT THE GROOVE AND EXTENDING OVER THE LATTER AND NORMALLY SLIGHTLY INWARDLY IN THE DIRECTION OF THE ARM TO HAVE A FREE END SLIGHTLY REMOTE FROM THE BODY, SAID BODY BEING PROVIDED WITH A DETENT MEANS ADJACENT SAID FREE END FOR HOLDING THE LATTER RADIALLY OUTWARD FROM ITS NORMAL POSITION TO HOLD THE STRIP IN A BENT POSITION TO CURB THE HAIR-SPRING WHEREBY WHEN THE STRIP IS IN NORMAL POSITION THE HAIRSPRING MAY BE INSERTED BETWEEN THE STRIP AND BODY AND INTO THE SLOT AND THE STRIP BE BENT AND DETAINED IN BENT AND CURBING POSITION BY THE DETENT MEANS. 